New Haven, CT — The 2013 Women’s College Squash Association National Team Championships had great team and individual performances. In this special edition of the [hpow], we recognize a player from each division of the tournament.
Howe Cup (A Division) – Haley Mendez (Harvard University): Mendez, a sophomore, helped the Crimson win their 14th National Team Championship (Howe Cup). In Harvard’s three matches in the tournament, Mendez played in the #3 position and defeated Stanford’s Madeleine Gill (11-6, 6-11, 11-7, and 11-4), Penn’s Rachael Goh (11-9, 11-9, 6-11, 9-11, and 11-8), and Trinity’s Wee Nee Low (11-4, 11-8, 6-11, and 11-8).
Kurtz Cup (B Division) – Cheri-Ann Parris (Bates College): Although Bates lost to Dartmouth in the Kurtz Cup final, the Bobcats fought their way to the finals. In the opening round, they defeated higher-seeded Williams, 5-4, with the help of Parris’ victory over the Ephs’ #2, Laura Henry. Against Middlebury, Parris defeated the Panthers’ Abigail Jenkins to help the Bobcats advance to the finals. She was the sole Bates player to capture a match against the Big Green.
Walker Cup (C Division) – Bonnie Cao (Bowdoin College): Senior captain Bonnie Cao had the best three days of her collegiate career at the National Team Championships. After defeating Colby, 8-1, the Polar Bears faced Hamilton. With the match tied 4-4, Cao faced Hamilton’s Hillary Kolodner. After being down 1-2, Cao tied the match 2-2. The fifth game went to tie-breakers, which Cao won (8-11, 11-5, 8-11, 11-7, and 12-10). She was mobbed by her teammates upon leaving the court. In the finals against Wesleyan, Bowdoin won 5-4. This time, Cao prevailed in the deciding 3-1 match, this time defeating Wesleyan’s Claire Miller (11-4, 12-14, 11-8, and 11-6).
Epps Cup (D Division) – Anne Habecker (William Smith College): Everytime William Smith has a tight team match, it seems that Anne Habecker is involved in a five-gamer. Last year, Habecker won a dramatic five-game match against St. Lawrence to get the Herons to the Epps Cup final. She did the same this year by defeating St. Lawrence’s Sarah Neilson (11-6, 11-7, 3-11, 3-11, and 11-7). In the tournament, she went 3-0 and helped William Smith win the Epps Cup.
E Division – Hannah Miller (Haverford College): Miller, a senior, played #8 for the Fords at the National Team Championships. Each one of her matches was very tight. Against Smith, she defeated Dipshikha Mahajan in five games (11-4, 10-12, 6-11, 12-10, and 11-8). In a four-game match, Miller defeated NYU’s Lina Want (2-11, 11-5, 11-7, and 11-7). In the finals against Tufts, she helped Haverford win the E Division with a five-game victory over Chelsea Dickson (11-1, 5-11, 11-9, 3-11, and 13-11).
Emerging Teams Division – Lindsey Kelt (Vanderbilt University): Going into the tournament, Vanderbilt had not played a match since the 2012 Women’s National Team Championships. To Lindsey Kelt, a first year student, this did not matter. She went 3-0 at the tournament to help Vanderbilt win the Emerging Teams Division. In the match with Washington St. Louis, Kelt fell behind 0-1 to Paige Landau, but rebounded to win the match in four games (10-12, 11-6, 11-5, and 11-7).
